1

It is done

Is "done" in the above sentence an adjunctive or a verb?

Or is it a simple past tense in passive form. If so why "is" is used.

Please clarify what is the structure of the sentence. This sentence grammatically doesn't make sense to me in terms.

Improve this question
1
  • Have you heard of a verb's principle parts?? Do, did, done//catch, caught, caught/freeze, froze, frozen//see, saw, seen Just a few examples.
    – Lambie
    Jan 22, 2022 at 19:15

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

It's not possible to analyze done without more context. Without that, it is ambiguous.

Barring additional context, it could mean (and be) either of these:

  1. It is done. (The task has been completed.)
    Here, done is the past participle of the verb to do. It is the verb being used adjectivally, which is why it is preceded by is.

  2. It is done. (It is exhausted.)
    Here, done is an adjective describing the spent or tired state of the thing. There are of course multiple senses of done, none of which correspond to the verb to do at all.

Improve this answer
6
  • It's the first one. To put a context, let's say "I will let you know once it is done". The past tense of the verb do is "did" and is "to do" a verb? I think it's not. Please clarify. Thank you
    – user360189
    Nov 9, 2019 at 15:47
  • @user360189 The expanded sentence doesn't do anything to clarify the context. I will let you know once it is done is just as ambiguous as it is done. All it does is add some more words to the start of the sentence. What is it and what does done mean? But if you mean the first of my two list items, then that's the list item that answers your question. It's the past tense of the verb to do being used adjectivally.
    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 9, 2019 at 15:51
  • Let's assume someone has emailed and assigned a task and I replied with the sentence: OK I will let you know once it is done. Is it wrong to use this way?
    – user360189
    Nov 9, 2019 at 15:54
  • @user360189 No, it's perfectly normal.
    – Jason Bassford
    Nov 9, 2019 at 16:01
  • So the verb done in here is an adjunctive or past participle of do. My confusion is that the sentence is in simple present; hence, it can't be past participle. If not so then what is it? Grammatically how can I make such a sentence?
    – user360189
    Nov 9, 2019 at 16:04
0

It can be an adjective meaning several things. For example, if you cook a turkey in the oven, after a few hours, it will be done, i.e. it will be cooked. As another example, if you make a big mistake, you are done, as in you are fired.

Improve this answer
1
  • I'm referring to the first one here. To give a context, just say "I will let you know once it is done". The past tense of the verb do is did and as per your reply above I think "to do" is not a verb and done is not its past tense. Can you please clarify?
    – user360189
    Nov 9, 2019 at 15:44

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .